Betty, Joan, Peggy

Yes, admittedly I have a certain show on the brain.  But this brilliant ad campaign from Louis Vuitton calls so much more to mind than just the hair color palette of it's main female protagonists.

Steven Meisel shot Natalia Vodianova, Karen Elson and Christy Turlington for Louis Vuitton on a set that is in many ways reminiscent of fifties and very early sixties glamour.  One imagines a starlet like Natalie Wood, Lana Turner or Marilyn getting a final dab of powder across her dainty chin before shooting her scene.

I'm not saying even for a minute that Mad Men influenced the art direction for this ad campaign, but I do think it's worth mentioning that the winds of fashion have definitely shifted (for the moment) to a place of refinement, a place that focuses on the curves of the female form rather than the straight up and down angularity of drop-waist mini-skirted mods and rock club girls in their shredded t-shirts and impossibly skinny jeans.  In it's fancier moments, the fifties abounded with this silhouette: one of bosoms, nipped waists, and full skirts that hit at the knee. The fantasy of the ladies in these photos exist in the lives we imagine they live outside of the context of the photographs. How does she live out her days?  In my mind, she dresses for lunch, wears driving gloves, and writes thank you notes with a fountain pen.

(Click to enlarge)

I am totally enraptured with this campaign. Beautifully lit and intricately posed (right down to the placement of fingers), something so very necessary for the strong sense of womanly refinement and austerity that the clothing conveys.  The fantasy world of these glowing girls from a golden age inspires and excites.  Even during the time period that this collection draws on, little girls never shied away from the dressing-up box:

Marc, Meisel, Natalia, Karen and Christy bring it all together to present day, and masterfully so.